Penguin Random House ALA Midwinter Award Winners & Honorees for Secondary Education

By Kaitlyn Spotts | February 17 2021 | General

The American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter announced their 2021 literary award winners and honorees at its virtual annual meeting. Below you can find which Penguin Random House titles appropriate for Middle School and High School students were among the winners. 

To see which Elementary School titles were honored, click here.

Printz Honor

Every Body Looking

Coretta Scott King – Author Honor

All the Days Past, All the Days to Come

Alex Award

We Ride Upon Sticks:  A Novel

Belpré Young Adult Author Honor

We Are Not from Here

Stonewall Honor

Darius the Great Deserves Better

YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction

The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh

 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist

How We Got to the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity’s Greatest Adventure

Sydney Taylor Award Middle Grade Winner

Turtle Boy

Sydney Taylor Award Middle Grade Honor

Dancing at the Pity Party

Sydney Taylor Award Middle Grade Honor

The Blackbird Girls

Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence

Deacon King Kong

APALA Award for Adult Fiction (Asian Pacific Literature)

How Much of These Hills is Gold

Stonewall: Barbara Gittings Literature Award Honor Books

The Death of Vivek Oji

Memorial

ALA Notable Books Fiction

The Vanishing Half

The Office of Historical Corrections

Deacon King Kong

Hamnet

Little Eyes

ALA Notable Books Nonfiction

A Knock at Midnight

Hidden Valley Road

Oak Flat

Caste

ALA Notable Books Poetry

Owed

RUSA Reading List Adrenaline

The Holdout

RUSA Reading List Historical Fiction

Conjure Women

RUSA Reading List Mystery

Fortune Favors the Dead

RUSA Reading List Mystery Science Fiction

The Space Between Worlds

Every Body Looking
Every Body Looking
Candice Iloh
978-0-525-55620-6
Every Body Looking is a debut novel in verse in the style of Elizabeth Acevedo and Jason Reynolds. Candice Iloh's book tells the story of Ada--daughter of an immigrant father and an African American mother--and her struggle to find a place for herself in America and in her own family.
$17.99 US
Sep 22, 2020
Hardcover
416 Pages
Dutton Books for Young Readers
Grade 7 & Up
All the Days Past, All the Days to Come
All the Days Past, All the Days to Come
Mildred D. Taylor
978-0-425-28808-5
The saga of the Logan family--made famous in the Newbery Medal-winning Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry--concludes in a deeply fulfilling story, now available in paperback.
$11.99 US
Jan 05, 2021
Paperback
496 Pages
Penguin Books
Grade 9 & Up
We Ride Upon Sticks
We Ride Upon Sticks
A Novel
Quan Barry
978-1-5247-4809-8
Acclaimed novelist Quan Barry delivers a tour de female force in this delightful novel. Set in the coastal town of Danvers, Massachusetts, where the accusations began that led to the 1692 witch trials, We Ride Upon Sticks follows the 1989 Danvers High School Falcons field hockey team, who will do anything to make it to the state finals—even if it means tapping into some devilishly dark powers. In chapters dense with 1980s iconography—from Heathers to “big hair”—Barry expertly weaves together the individual and collective progress of this enchanted team as they storm their way through an unforgettable season.
$26.95 US
Mar 03, 2020
Hardcover
384 Pages
Pantheon
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
We Are Not from Here
We Are Not from Here
Jenny Torres Sanchez
978-1-9848-1226-1
A poignant novel of desperation, escape, and survival across the U.S.-Mexico border, inspired by current events.
$18.99 US
May 19, 2020
Hardcover
368 Pages
Philomel Books
Grades 9-12
Darius the Great Deserves Better
Darius the Great Deserves Better
Adib Khorram
978-0-593-10823-9
In this companion to the award-winning Darius the Great Is Not Okay, Darius suddenly has it all: a boyfriend, an internship, a spot on the soccer team. It's everything he's ever wanted--but what if he deserves better?
$17.99 US
Aug 25, 2020
Hardcover
352 Pages
Dial Books
Grade 7 & Up
The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh
The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh
Candace Fleming
978-0-525-64654-9
WINNER OF THE 2021 YALSA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION FOR YOUNG ADULTS!   SIX STARRED REVIEWS! Discover the dark side of Charles Lindbergh--one of America's most celebrated heroes and complicated men--in this riveting biography from the acclaimed author of The Family Romanov.
$18.99 US
Feb 11, 2020
Hardcover
384 Pages
Schwartz & Wade
Grade 7 & Up
How We Got to the Moon
How We Got to the Moon
The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity's Greatest Adventure
John Rocco
978-0-525-64741-6
LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • YALSA EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION FINALIST • A ROBERT F. SIBERT HONOR BOOK This beautifully illustrated, oversized guide to the people and technology of the moon landing by award-winning author/illustrator John Rocco (illustrator of the Percy Jackson series) is a must-have for space fans, classrooms, and tech geeks.
$29.99 US
Oct 06, 2020
Hardcover
264 Pages
Crown Books for Young Readers
Grade 5 & Up
Turtle Boy
Turtle Boy
M. Evan Wolkenstein
978-0-593-12157-3
SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARD WINNER   A boy who has spent his life living inside a shell discovers the importance of taking chance in this "winner" (Booklist, starred review) of a friendship story that's perfect for fans of Wonder.
$16.99 US
May 05, 2020
Hardcover
400 Pages
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Grades 6-8
Dancing at the Pity Party
Dancing at the Pity Party
Tyler Feder
978-0-525-55302-1
Part poignant cancer memoir and part humorous reflection on a motherless life, this debut graphic novel is extraordinarily comforting and engaging.
$18.99 US
Apr 14, 2020
Hardcover
208 Pages
Dial Books
Grade 7 & Up
The Blackbird Girls
The Blackbird Girls
Anne Blankman
978-1-9848-3737-0
NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD WINNER A SYDNEY TAYLOR MIDDLE GRADE HONOR BOOK   Like Ruta Sepetys for middle grade, Anne Blankman pens a poignant and timeless story of friendship that twines together moments in underexplored history.
$8.99 US
Jan 19, 2021
Paperback
352 Pages
Puffin Books
Grades 4-7
Deacon King Kong
Deacon King Kong
A Novel
James McBride
978-0-7352-1673-0
"Terrific...deeply felt, beautifully written, and profoundly humane." --The New York Times Book Review cover "Hilarious...A rich and vivid multicultural history." --Time Magazine From James McBride, author of the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird and the bestselling modern classic The Color of Water, one of the most anticipated novels of the year: a wise and witty tale about what happens to the witnesses of a shooting.
$17.00 US
Feb 02, 2021
Paperback
400 Pages
Riverhead Books
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
How Much of These Hills Is Gold
How Much of These Hills Is Gold
A Novel
C Pam Zhang
978-0-525-53720-5
An electric debut novel set against the twilight of the American gold rush, two siblings are on the run in an unforgiving landscape -- trying not just to survive but to find a home.
$26.00 US
Apr 07, 2020
Hardcover
288 Pages
Riverhead Books
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
The Death of Vivek Oji
The Death of Vivek Oji
A Novel
Akwaeke Emezi
978-0-525-54160-8
What does it mean for a family to lose a child they never really knew? A dramatic and deeply moving novel by the internationally acclaimed author of Freshwater
$27.00 US
Aug 04, 2020
Hardcover
256 Pages
Riverhead Books
Grades AP/IB
Memorial
Memorial
A Novel
Bryan Washington
978-0-593-08727-5
What happens when a love story collides with the limits of love--and everyone has an opinion?
$27.00 US
Oct 27, 2020
Hardcover
320 Pages
Riverhead Books
Grades AP/IB
The Vanishing Half
The Vanishing Half
A Novel
Brit Bennett
978-0-525-53629-1
From The New York Times-bestselling author of The Mothers, a stunning new novel about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white.
$27.00 US
Jun 02, 2020
Hardcover
352 Pages
Riverhead Books
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
The Office of Historical Corrections
The Office of Historical Corrections
A Novella and Stories
Danielle Evans
978-1-59448-733-0
The award-winning author of Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self brings her signature voice and insight to the subjects of race, grief, apology, and American history.
$27.00 US
Nov 10, 2020
Hardcover
288 Pages
Riverhead Books
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
Hamnet
Hamnet
Maggie O'Farrell
978-0-525-65760-6
England, 1580: The Black Death creeps across the land, an ever-present threat, infecting the healthy, the sick, the old and the young, alike.  
$26.95 US
Jul 21, 2020
Hardcover
320 Pages
Knopf
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
Little Eyes
Little Eyes
A Novel
Samanta Schweblin
978-0-525-54136-3
A visionary novel about our interconnected present, about the collision of horror and humanity, from a master of the spine-tingling tale.
$26.00 US
May 05, 2020
Hardcover
256 Pages
Riverhead Books
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
A Knock at Midnight
A Knock at Midnight
A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom
Brittany K. Barnett
978-1-9848-2578-0
An urgent call to free those buried alive by America's legal system, and an inspiring true story about unwavering belief in humanity--from a gifted young lawyer whose journey marks the emergence of a powerful new voice in the movement to transform the system.
$28.00 US
Sep 08, 2020
Hardcover
336 Pages
Crown
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
Hidden Valley Road
Hidden Valley Road
Inside the Mind of an American Family
Robert Kolker
978-0-525-56264-1
Hidden Valley Road is the heartrending story of a midcentury American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science’s great hope in the quest to understand the disease.
$17.00 US
Mar 02, 2021
Paperback
400 Pages
Anchor
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
Oak Flat
Oak Flat
A Fight for Sacred Land in the American West
Lauren Redniss
978-0-399-58972-0
A powerful work of visual nonfiction about three generations of an Apache family struggling to protect sacred land from a multinational mining corporation, by MacArthur "Genius" and National Book Award finalist Lauren Redniss, the acclaimed author of Thunder & Lightning.
$30.00 US
Nov 17, 2020
Hardcover
288 Pages
Random House
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
The Space Between Worlds
The Space Between Worlds
Micaiah Johnson
978-0-593-13505-1
An outsider who can travel between worlds discovers a secret that threatens her new home and her fragile place in it in a stunning sci-fi debut that's both a cross-dimensional adventure and a powerful examination of identity, privilege, and belonging.
$28.00 US
Aug 04, 2020
Hardcover
336 Pages
Del Rey
Grades 6-12
Fortune Favors the Dead
Fortune Favors the Dead
A Novel
Stephen Spotswood
978-0-385-54655-3
"Bullets, blood, bodies, and belly-laughs: all the ingredients of a classic mystery novel. Stephen Spotswood hard-boils with the best of 'em!"--Alan Bradley, bestselling author of the Flavia de Luce Mystery Series A wildly charming and fast-paced mystery written with all the panache of the hardboiled classics, Fortune Favors the Dead introduces Pentecost and Parker, an audacious new detective duo for the ages.
$26.95 US
Oct 27, 2020
Hardcover
336 Pages
Doubleday
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
Conjure Women
Conjure Women
A Novel
Afia Atakora
978-0-525-51150-2
A dazzling debut novel that sweeps across eras and generations to tell the story of a mother and daughter with a shared talent for healing--and the conjuring of curses.
$18.00 US
Feb 23, 2021
Paperback
416 Pages
Random House Trade Paperbacks
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
Owed
Owed
Joshua Bennett
978-0-14-313385-8
From "one of the most impressive voices in poetry today" (Dissent magazine), a new collection that shines a light on forgotten or obscured parts of the past in order to reconstruct a deeper, truer vision of the present
$20.00 US
Sep 01, 2020
Paperback
96 Pages
Penguin Books
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
Caste (Oprah's Book Club)
Caste (Oprah's Book Club)
The Origins of Our Discontents
Isabel Wilkerson
978-0-593-23025-1
Oprah's Book Club Pick! The Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of The Warmth Of Other Suns examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.
$32.00 US
Aug 04, 2020
Hardcover
496 Pages
Random House
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
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